1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of sport and exercise devices and more particularly relates to a portable personal training and exercise device which utilizes a cable and pulley mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years personal training and exercise devices have become very popular. Many different types of personal training and exercise devices including fixed, stationary and portable exercise devices have been designed and introduced into the marketplace. The following prior art patents are representative of the types of exercise devices which are known in the prior art.
1. U.S. Pat. No. 766,748 issued to Terry on Aug. 2, 1904 for “Physical Exerciser And Developer” (hereafter the “Terry Patent”);
2. U.S. Pat. No. 913,799 issued to Burguet on Mar. 2, 1909 for “Exercising Apparatus” (hereafter the “Burguet Patent”);
3. U.S. Pat. No. 1,573,362 issued to Stovall on Feb. 16, 1926 for “Child's Toy And Exerciser” (hereafter the “Stovall Patent”);
4. U.S. Pat. No. 3,841,627 issued to Vetter on Oct. 15, 1974 for “Push Pull Rotatable Wheel Type exercising Device” (hereafter the “Vetter Patent”);
5. U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,789 issued to Deluty on May 27, 1975 for “Exercising Device” (hereafter the “Deluty Patent”);
6. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 241,150 issued to Hale on Aug. 24, 1976 for “Physical Exerciser” (hereafter the “Hale Patent”);
7. U.S. Pat. No. 4,174,832 issued to Thompson on Nov. 20, 1979 for “Friction Type Exercise Device” (hereafter the “Thompson Patent”);
8. U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,965 issued to Hatfield on May 11, 1982 for “Portable Archery Muscle Developer” (hereafter the “Hatfield Patent”);
9. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 304,748 issued to Bowers on Nov. 21, 1989 for “Hand Held Exerciser” (hereafter the “Bowers Patent”);
10. U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,461 issued to Bailey, Jr. on Oct. 25, 1994 for “Exerciser Activated Body-Mounted Lights And Generators” (hereafter the “Bailey Patent”);
11. U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,591 issued to Chen on Aug. 1, 1995 for “Chest Expander” (hereafter the “Chen Patent”);
12. U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,149 issued to Smith on Jan. 23, 1996 for “Friction Resistance Exercise Device” (hereafter the “Smith Patent”);
13. U.S. Pat. No. 5,618,249 issued to Marshall on Apr. 8, 1997 for “Unidirectionally Adjustably Resistant Recoilers And Portable Exercise Devices” (hereafter the “Marshall Patent”);
14. U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,637 issued to Gow on Jan. 20, 1998 for “Rotator Cuff Strength Training Device” (hereafter the “Gow Patent”);
15. U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,231 issued to Corn on Mar. 31, 1998 for “Exercise Device With Variable Resistance” (hereafter the “Corn Patent”);
16. U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,310 issued to Mackey on Mar. 2, 1999 for “Upper Body Exercise Device” (hereafter the “'310 Mackey Patent”);
17. U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,447 issued to Ramsaroop on Aug. 8, 2000 for “Exercise Belt” (hereafter the “Ramsaroop Patent”);
18. U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,559 issued to Mackey on Nov. 21, 2000 for “Variable Resistance Exercise Device” (hereafter the “'559 Mackey Patent”);
19. U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,899 B1 issued to Charnitski on Sep. 4, 2001 for “Inertial Resistance Exercise Apparatus And Method” (hereafter the “Charnitski Patent”);
20. U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,701 issued to Shifferaw on Nov. 13, 2001 for “Portable Exercise Machine” (hereafter the “Shifferaw Patent”);
In the Vetter Patent to surmount a resistance a flywheel mass and a pulling member are mounted at one end of a shaft which is journaled in a housing of a gymnastics apparatus. The pulling or drawing member includes a rope which can be wound or unwound from the shaft. The rope has one of its ends fixed to the shaft end while the other end of the rope is attached to the housing and the main portion of the rope is guided over guide rollers housed in an independent handle which is pulled by a user.
The Deluty Patent discloses an exercising device having a housing which is attached to a stationary surface. A cord with a hand grip on its free end can be pulled out of the housing against the internal resistance of the exercising device. The amount of internal resistance can be varied by means of a control knob. An automatic rewind mechanism draws the cord back into the housing when the cord is released. The device has, as a specific feature, a manually adjustable resisting force mechanism. This mechanism includes the combination of a stationary capstan around which the cord is wrapped, and a variable force friction nip mechanism which (a) retards the cord as it is pulled out of the housing, and (b) maximizes the capstan's frictional resistance by keeping the cord tightly wound around the capstan as the cord is being pulled out of the housing.
The Thompson Patent discloses an exercise device has a cord contained in a housing with a handle on the cord to pull it out of the housing. Resistance is developed by sliding friction between the cord and the housing and between the cord and a spool in the housing. The device has independent adjustment for controlling the friction between the cord and the housing and the spool friction. A recoil wheel retracts the cord.
The Hatfield Patent discloses a compact, portable archery exerciser allows an archer to accurately emulate the pulling of a bow to tone and strengthen the muscles used in archery. A first embodiment of the exerciser comprises two elongated handle members which are interconnected at the ends by a selectable number of resilient members to provide an exerciser with a selectable pull weight. A second embodiment of the exerciser includes a housing having an internal chamber and a handle portion for receiving an archer's bow holding hand. A spring loaded pulley is mounted within the chamber and receives a cable which, when unwound from the pulley, compresses the spring. The cable is routed outside the chamber where it is attached to a handle which is positioned to allow an operator of the exerciser to pull the handle away from the handle portion of the housing to accurately simulate the pulling of a bow. An adjustable pulley mounted within the chamber engages the cable to allow adjustment of the pull weight of the second embodiment of the exerciser.
The Bailey Patent discloses exercise activated body-mounted lights and generators wherein generators attached to bright lights on exercise clothing are turned by recoiling pull-cords attached to hand grips pulled during the normal arm movement of the exercise to light the path of the exerciser. Bright white front lights may pivot to adust for the body angle of the exerciser. Colored back lights may also be lighted to make the exerciser more visible from the rear. A vest or belt and shoulder straps both attached adjustably by VELCRO (hooks and loops fastener) are used to support the generators and lights on the body of the exerciser. Wires run under the material of the belt or vest to the lights. Alternately, a single generator in the center of the back with two separate cord reels, on at each side, may be used to turn the generator. The generators and reels are covered by water-proof material. A one-way drive in the cord reel turns the generator only in one direction to create power. Weights may be added to the hand grips to enhance the exercise effect of moving the arms. An alternate grip in the shape of a ski-pole grip is attached to a ski pole for cross-country skiing at night. The system could be supplemented with a battery to store electricity so that the lights may remain on during rest periods. The invention is used for night-time jogging, walking, roller blading, cross-country skiing, or other activities where it is desired to light the path of the exerciser and make the exerciser visible from the rear.
The Chen Patent discloses a chest expander includes a first handle having two distal ends, a substantially U-shaped tubular housing including a first line and a second line extended from two limb ends thereof and connected to two distal ends of the first handle, a second handle connected between the two limbs of the U-shaped tubular housing, and a load adjusting mechanism being received in one corner of the U-shaped tubular housing allowing a user to adjust the load of the chest expander. The two handles of the chest expander are manually extended and retracted repeatedly via the two lines.
The Smith Patent discloses a one-way clutch which is rotatable with a member (e.g. helical spring) and a sleeve, while the spring is being constrained by the manual winding of a cable on the sleeve. The sleeve is constructed to wind the cable uniformly on the sleeve. During the constraint imposition, the clutch drives a shaft and a disc. One disc surface abuts bearing liners affixed to a casing. The other disc surface is separated from the spring. Calibrated numbers are printed on the casing periphery. A dial externally supported by the casing is rotatable relative to the casing to any of the calibrated numbers to adjust the friction force between the liners and the disc when the disc is rotated. The casing is vented at its opposite ends. When the spring is being constrained or the constraint is being released, air flows through the vents and through the space between the successive turns in the spring and past the disc to cool the disc. When the spring constraint is released, the clutch floats relative to the shaft so that the spring returns to its unconstrained relationship without any movement of the shaft or the disc. The dial is also adjustable in position, independently of any dial rotation, after being removed from the casing to adjust the calibration of the friction force between the liner and the disc and is thereafter attached to the casing in this adjusted position. Another looped cable anchors the exercise apparatus against a post before the apparatus is operated.
The Marshall Patent discloses an upper body exercise device comprising a base (10) on which two adjustably resistant recoilers (20) are mounted is contained in a waist pouch (30). Two extension members (40) extend outwardly and downwardly from the base (10) and pulleys (50) are attached to the recoilers (20) are threaded through the pulleys (50) and handles (70) are provided at the ends. The extension members (40) displace and direct frictional force created by the recoilers (20), and the pouch (30) makes the device easy to put on and take off. The recoilers (20) preferably provide adjustably resistant force against tension applied to the cords (60) and a slight restoring force sufficient to recoil the cords (600 when tension is released. This avoids safety problems with other mechanisms that provide a restoring force equal to the displacing force.
The Gow Patent discloses a portable exercise device which is provided for specific strength training of the rotator cuff. A cylindrical spool member is provided with a handle across its diameter. A length of rubber exercise tubing is fixed tangentially to one point of the spool, with the other end attachable to a fixed point on an inertial resistance, allowing the user to grip the handle and rotate or move the spool against a continuous resistance for muscle development.
The Corn Patent discloses an exercise apparatus includes a plurality of inelastic, retractable cords, each terminating at a handgrip. A retracting mechanism is provided for retracting the cords. Separate resistance mechanisms are provided to resist each of the cords as the cords are being withdrawn from the retracting mechanism. The resistance mechanisms operate independently of one another. At least one removable disk unit is connectable to the resistance mechanism of the exercise apparatus for incrementally increasing resistance force with respect to unwinding movement of the cords when operably connected to the resistance mechanism. The removable disk units can be preloaded with a predetermined biasing resistance force when assembled during manufacturing, and the biasing resistance force can be maintained while not connected to the main unit of the exercise apparatus. The preload maintenance mechanism maintains the preloaded spring force of the removable disk unit while connected to the main unit, as well as when disconnected from the main unit.
The '310 Mackey Patent discloses an upper body exercise device designed to be used by a person while walking. The device consists of a belt to which a pair of cables is attached. The cables are retractable and roll up automatically, via a spring reel assembly, onto spools located within a pair of handgrips. The user grasps the handgrips and pulls outwardly while walking. The force required to pull the handgrips outwardly can be increased or decreased by turning an adjustment knob located on the outside of each handgrip. The adjustment knob causes a frictional force to be exerted on the cable spool making it easier or harder to pull the cable out. Straps are provided on each side of the belt to store the handgrips when not in use. Obviously the device of the present invention may also be used while in stationary position or while jogging.
The Ramsaroop Patent discloses an exercise belt for exercising the upper body of a user. The exercise belt includes a belt and a pair of cable retracting devices coupled to the belt. Each of the cable retracting devices comprises a housing and a cable that is retractably extended from the housing. A pair of handles are coupled to free ends of the cables.
The Mackey '559 patent discloses a variable resistance exercise device with a resistance mechanism comprised of a housing, spring reel, extension cable and resistance applying knob. A strap helps attach the resistance mechanism to a person's arm or keg. An eye bolt or bracket is attached to a wall. A retaining clip attaches to the wall bracket at the end of the cable of the resistance mechanism. An alternate embodiment where the resistance mechanism is removably attached to a wall at one end and a user retaining or holding means attached to said cable at the opposite end. A preferred embodiment includes wherein said housing has a padded portion on its underside where it interfaces the users arm or leg.
The Charnitski Patent discloses an exercise apparatus and method which utilizes a flywheel mounted on a rotatable axle. The user exercises by accelerating and decelerating the rotation of the flywheel. For example, a line which wraps around the axle provides a mechanism for accelerating and decelerating the flywheel when a user applies a pulling force to the line. The inertia of the flywheel resists the user applied pulling force and provides the exercise mechanism. Preferably, spool mounted on the axle and variable pivot locations provide a mechanism for easily varying the exercise resistance.
The Shifferaw Patent discloses a portable exercise machine having a base, a capstan rotatively mounted within the base, an elongated cable wrapped about the capstan and trained about guides toward opposite ends of the base with end portions of the cable extending beyond the base, handles attached to the end portions of the cable for drawing the cable back and forth through the base and thereby rotating the capstan, and means for resisting rotation of the capstan. The handles have frames with reels rotatively mounted on the frames and the end portions of the cable being wound about the reels, springs for rotating the reels to wind the end portions of the cable onto the reels, first grips connected to the reels and adapted to be grasped by the hands of an exerciser to prevent rotation of the reels and second grips connected to the frames and adapted to be engaged by the hands of the exerciser for moving thee handles without inhibiting rotation of the reels.
In spite of the numerous types of exercise devices in the prior art, none of these devices are portable, can have varied resistance and are capable of attachment to numerous body parts to facilitate a wide range of exercises. There is a significant need for such a device. It is also desirable to provide a new design and construction of a portable personal exercise device that utilizes the above features.